BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -
A school calendar approved by the Birmingham Board of Education at a Tuesday
meeting largely aligns the Birmingham City Schools system schedule with that of Jefferson
County schools for the 2013-2014 school year.

The new Birmingham City Schools calendar has the first day
of school scheduled for Aug. 19, 2013, and the last day as May 29, 2014.
Christmas break begins Dec. 23, 2013, and students will return Jan. 6, 2014.
Spring break for Birmingham students will last from March 24 until March 28 in
2014.

That is broadly the same schedule as the 2013-2014 calendar
for Jefferson County schools approved
by the Jefferson County Board of Education in March, with one exception: JeffCo
schools have a teacher work day planned for March 31, the Monday after 2014
spring break, meaning students will not have to return to class following
spring break until Tuesday, April 1, 2014.

At the Tuesday meeting, the finance officer for Birmingham
schools also expressed concerns about the school
system's finances in the current fiscal year.